Switch-point guard



May 11, 1927.

P. HOFFMAN ET AlswITcH 150ml` GUARD Filed Auz. 7. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 1VwWilm A TToRNEY.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 P HOFFMAN ET AL SWITCH POINT GUARD Filed Aufl. 7. 1926May 17 1927.

IVNToRs um BY MMM, aw@

AHORA/5v5 May 17,1927. 1,628,882

P. HOFFMAN AL SWITCH POINT GUARD Filed Anz. v. 192e :s sheets-sh'eet 5 ATTORNE Y1'.

Patented May 17, 1927.

UNITED STATES FAUL HOFFMAN; F LA GRANGEILLINOIS, ANI) JAMES RISTRONG, OFSUFFERN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO RAMAPO AJAX CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N.Y,.

v CORPORATION OF vNEW YORK.

, SWITCH-POINT GUARD.

Application med' August 7, 1926. serial No. 127,730.V

having means for securely holding'it .in position relative to therunning rail; yet permitting its quick and easy assembly and removal,and so arranged as to braceV and strengthen the running rail withouthavin-g a weakening effect on any portion thereof.k The inventionespecially relates to a switchl point guard which is secured in bracedposition against the running rail without being Y bolted thereto; butwhich holds the guard against the running rail and prevents the latterfrom crowding away from the switch point.

Various other objects andl advantages of the invention ywill be obviousfrom the following particular description of forms of a device embodyingthe invention or from an .inspection of the accompanying drawings; andthe invention also consists in certain new and novel features ofconstruction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth andclaimed.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a railway switchembodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan' view of the guard on an enlarged scale; f p

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the guard shown in Fig. 2;.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line l-'Ll'ofy Fis 2;

Fig. 5 is Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a plan View of a portion of a railway switch with a guardapplied thereto embodying ay modified form of our tion; and

Fig. 9 is a section. on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8. f l

In the following description and in the claims parts will be identifiedby specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be asgeneric Vin their application to Ya section on the line 5'5 of 7 is asection on the line 7 7 of similar parts as the art will permit.

invenv Referring lto the form of. the inventiony shown in Figs. 1 to 7inclusive; the switch point guard is positioned on the outside of arunning rail 10 opposite theswitch point 11 of a movable switch rail 12.The guard 13 is of unitary construction; and may be made steel. It is ofa length suiiicient to span oroverlie a plurality Aof ties 14, threebeing shown by way of illustration, in Fig. 1.

Tie plates recessed to receive` the basey 16 of the running rail extendoutwardly therefrom a` substantial distance along the ties to supportthe base 17 ofthe guard 13.

Each tie plate may have a thickened end, l` 'i provided with a shoulder17 As shown in Fig. lthere may be a slight clearance bef tween thebase'of the rail and shoulder 17, due to variation 'in width of the railbase. As shown in Figs. 4l and`7; the outerend ofv each tie -plate isprovided with a. ledge or shoulder 18 preferably formed integraltherewith and against which the base of the guard rail abuts. Holes 19are provided for spiking the tie plates to the ties. The web 20of theguard rail'has lugs 22 projecting therefrom at spaced intervals to fitwithin the fishing space of the rail 10. The base `of the guard railseats upon the tie plates 15 with the outer edge 23 of the basecontacting the shoulder or ledge 18 of eachtie plate. The base has awidth sufficient to prevent overturning or moving; and is securedv tothe tie by spikes 241 or other ysuitable means.

Lugs are formed integral with the guard rail to extend beneath andengage the under-side of the base of the running rail. Each of said lugsmaybe provided throughout its entire length with a reenforcingenlargement or rib 31.

The head 21 of the guard engages the side of the rail head 10 and itstread 33is flush with the top of the rail head 10. The head is alsoprovided with a vertical flange 34: projecting above the rail head.

Bracing ribs 35 extend from or near the top of the vertical flange 34 toor near the outer edge 23 ofthe base. Preferably a tie and tie plate arelocated beneath each of these bracing ribs to increase the rigidity ofthe structure. The vertical flange 84 preferably extends parallel withthe running rail for substantially half of its length and ter- 60 of anysuitable material such as manganese minates in outwardly flaringportions l-l at the ends of the guard.

A modiied form of the guard is shown in S and in this'construction theeX- tension formed integral with the base of the guard rail does notextend outward sufii ciently to Acontact with the end of the 'tie plate,but is out off on a line diagonal to length, thereby formingawedge face43. wedge block Llei having a wedge face betweenftlie flange 18 on thetie plate and the end ofthe extension. Said wedge block husaserrateduipper face lo and has a slot 47, formedtherein to receive abolt d8, on which 4is mounted a serrated ywasher 49 provided with meansto interlock with the wedge plate. A nut provides means fortighteuingthe lockingwasher in its adjusted position relative to thewedgefblocit so that the wedge bloclt is firmly held-in engagement `withthe wedge face of the extension. The rail base may have a slightvariation in width, Vbut as shown in Fig. 9, the wedge plate holdsA ittight against'the shoulder 17.

rlhe adjustability oft-his construct-ion pre vents the lost motioncommon with tne use ofnoneadjustable rail braces, .which do not holdtherail baseagainst the shoulder. rlhis arrangement permits any slackbetween the guard rail andthe ruiming rail to be talren upso that Vagreater variation is permissible in` manufacture, and alsopermitsadjustment to be made from'time to time without reino-.*ingzany spikesor making 'additional bolt *Y aniexceptional .distance and incombination with' the bri-icing. ribswhich run to the head ofthe guardrail, and may extend up to the topaof the guard rail flange, provide anunusuallystrong,rigid and veFective means for preventing overturning ormovement of the guard rail. The spaced lugs on the guard rail, whichextend beneath the stock rail, providethe rigidity of a unitarystructure, yet they permit horizontal movement of the guard rail andstock rail relative to each other while prevent-ing vertical or swingingmovement between tlietwo rails. same .time the spaced lugs doAnotinterfere withl theplacingof `the ties or theuse of tie plates,whichl mayy be of standard construction.

itsv

la adapted to co-operate withA the wedge 'face on' the-base extension ismounted in the space.

. movable Vilhile we have shown and described and have pointed out inthe annexed claims certain novel features of theA invention, it will beunderstood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in theforms a l details of the device illustrated and in itsopera ion may bemade by those skilled in the art without'departing from the spirit ofthe invention. y

Having thus described our invention, we claim: l

l. ln combination with a runningrail, a switch point guard disposed ontheoutside of said running rail adjacent a switch point, and means forsecuring said.switch point guard to said'running rail, compirsinga lug.integralwith said guard and engaging the under-side of saidprunningrail, saidlug. being provided throughout its length with are-enforcing rib. Y

2. A guard rail structure comprising. a, movable switch point adjacentthereto, Y spaced lugs .engaging the under-side of the running rail anda Vrib integral with the guard rail spaced from said lug, said ribextending from the head ofthe guard rail to a point beyond theplanepassing through the curved ends of the guard rail.

3. A guard rail structure comprising a movable switch point adjacentthereto, spaced ylugs engaging the under side ofthe running rail anda.rib integral with the guard rail spaced fromsaid lug, atie plateunderlying said running rail and guard rail, said rib extending from thehead of said guard approximately to the outer edge of said tie plate.

4. A guard rail structure comprising: a Y

switch point adjacent thereto, spaced lugs engaging the under side-y ofthe running rail and a rib. integral'with the guard rail spaced fromsaid lug, said guard rail comprising a base provided with a relativelywide extension, Vsaid rib extending from the head of the guardf railapproximately to the outer edge of said extension.

5. A guard rail structure comprising amovablev switchV pointl adjacent`thereto, spaced lugs engaging the under-side of the, running rail, and aplurality of ribs alternately positioned lengthwise of the guard rail,each ofsaid ribs extending from the head ofthe guard rail to' a pointbeyond thel plane passing through the curved endsof the guard rail.

6. ln railroad construction, .the combination with a runningrail, of aswitch 'point guard, and a tie plate provided withan upstandingshoulder, said guard comprising a base having an extension resting onsaid tie plate, and -means for securingsaid guardv adjacent to therunning rail, comprisinga wedge rplate mounted on said tie plate andarranged between-said extension and said shoulder.

' '7. In railroad construction, the combination with a running rail, ofa switch point guard and a tie plate provided with an upstandingshoulder, said guard comp-rising a base resting on said tie plate andprovided with an inclined face, and means for securing said guardadjacent to the running 'rail comprisingA a wedge plate vmounted on saidtie-plate and arrangedl between said inclined face and said shoulder.

8. In railroad construction, the combination with a running rail, of aswitch point guard, a tie plate provided with an upstanding shoulder,said guard comprising a base resting on said tie platek and providedwith an inclined face, a wedge plate mounted on said tie plate andarranged between said inclined face and said shoulder, and means securedto the tie plate interlocking with the wedge plate to hold same inadjusted position.

9. In railroad construction, the combination with a running rail, of aswitch point guard, a tie plate provided with an upstanding shoulder,said guard comprising a base resting on said tie plate and provided withan inclined face, a wedge plate mounted on said tie plate and arrangedbetween said inclined face and said shoulder, and having a roughenedupper surface and a washer secured to the tie interlocking with thewedge plate to hold same in adjusted position.

Y 10. In railroad construction, the combination with a running rail, ofa switch point guard having a base extension disposed on the outside ofsaid running rail adjacent a switch point, a tie plate underlying saidrunning rail and guard, the outer end of said tie plate being providedwith an upstanding shoulder, the outer end of said base extension havinga diagonal face, means for securing said Switchpoint guard to therunning rail, comprising a wedge platemounted on said tie plate andarranged between said diagonal face and said shoulder, said plate havinga roughened surface adapted to engage the corresponding surface on thewedge plate, 'and a bolt for holding the wedge plate and washer inadjusted position, said bolt being secured to said tie plate.

11'. In railroad construction, the combination with a running rail. of aswitch point guard, a tie plate having a thickened portion provided witha shoulder, said running rail having a base adapted for engagement withsaid shoulder and adjustable means for holding said guard in engagementwith said rail and for holding said base in engagement with saidshoulder. Y

12. In combination with a running rail, a guard member therefor,supporting means for said guard member comprising a base member and lugsseparated from said base member and integral with said guard member,said lugs underlying said rail.

13. In combination with a running rail,

aguard member therefor', supporting means for vsaid guard membercomprising a plurality Vof base members, said base members beingdisposed entirely on the outside vof saidrail, lugs integral with saidguard member underlyingsaid rail, said -base members and said lugs beingalternately disposed longitudinally of said guard member.

14. In combination with a running rail, a supporting tie therefor,akguard member for said rail including a base portion, a tie plateunderlying said guard member and said running rail, said tie plate beingsupported by said tie, and means for attaching said guard member to saidrail comprising lugs spaced from said tie and underlying said rail.

15. In combination with a running rail, a guard member therefor having abase portion, said base portion having a supporting flange entirelyoutside said rail, means for attaching said guard member to said railcomprising lugs integral with said guard member, certain of said lugsbeing adapted to engage the under side of said rail, and others of saidlugs being disposed in the fishing space of said rail.l

16. In combination withL a running rail, a guard member therefor havinga base portion, a flange on the upper portion of said guard member, atransverse rib extending from said flange to substantially the end ofsaid base portion, said base portion being disposed entirely on theoutside of said rail, and means for attaching said guard member to saidrail comprising a lug adapted to engage the under-side of said rail,said lug and said base member being disposed in different planeslongitudinally of said guard, member.

17. In combination with a running rail, a guard member therefor having alaterally extending base portion, a narrow rib eX- tending from theupper part of said guard member to substantially the end of said baseportion, a tie plate underlying said guard member and said rail, andmeans for securing said members comprising means extending through bothsaid base portion and said tie plate.

18.V In combination with a running rail, a guard member therefor havinga laterally extending supporting member, a flange on the upper portionof said guard-member, a narrow transverse rib' extending from saidflange to the end of said supporting member, a tie plate underlying saidrail and said guard member and securing means extending through said tievplate and said guard member.

19. In combination with a running rail, a supporting tie therefor, aguard member having a 'laterally extending supporting member a flange onthe upper portion of said guard member, a narrow transverse ribextending' from said flange to the end of said supporting member, atieplate underlying said guard member andsaid rail, said tieplateresting upon said tie, and means for securing said plate to saidJnie comprising means extendingthrough said base member on both sides ofsaid rib, said' means also 10 extend-ing; through aidY tiefplate. f

Signed at Chieagoqin the Countyof'C/ook Andr-State of. Illinois.

PAUL? HOFFMAN. -Signed nt N. Y. city-.in the Countyof New YorkfyzmdState of New York.

JAMES B. STRONG.

